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It is against the law to drive under the influence of marijuana in California. If you are pulled over and the officer suspects you’re stoned, he or she may call in a Drug Recognition Expert who will evaluate you for signs of intoxication such as dilated pupils and dry mouth. If convicted, you risk up to five years probation, fees and fines, participation in a Drinking Driver Program as well as a suspension or restriction of your driving privilege. Anyone arrested for DUI/THC should contact a lawyer who specializes in DUI cases. There are many inconclusive factors regarding driving under the influence of marijuana and the THC test results that should be considered.

They’re natural, rich, gorgeous, and timeless. It’s no wonder so many people choose hardwood floors for their homes. Like its name, hardwood feels hard to the touch, but it can be more sensitive than it looks.

A home can be so many things. It can be the place you raise your family. It can be a blank canvas from which you create your dream home. It can be your sanctuary. It can be an investment. It can be your retirement. It can be all of the above. The point is that a home is a very important and unique purchase. Not only is it most likely your biggest financial investment; it is also very likely an emotional one. This is why buying a new home is exciting and wonderful—but can also be a little scary and stressful.

Trends come and go, but as we well know, they tend to come full circle. This is as true with flooring as it is with fashion. That’s why, when we buy a house, many of us remove the carpet to expose the original hardwood flooring. Meaning hardwood was in, then carpet was popular, then hardwood became the flooring to have again. Today, there’s a new comeback kid in flooring: linoleum. Popular in the 1950s, it was replaced by vinyl in the 1960s, but today linoleum has been experiencing a revival as people discover that it possesses the following benefits:

Environmentally friendly—Linoleum is made from renewable, all-natural materials including linseed oil, cork, wood flour and natural pigments. It’s biodegradable and recyclable; it also contributes to good air quality and contains no toxic VOCs (volatile organic compounds).

If you get pulled over by an officer and he or she suspects that you’ve been drinking, you will be asked to perform a series of field sobriety tests (FSTs). The purpose of the FST is to judge whether or not your mental and physical abilities are too impaired by alcohol for you to drive safely. There are many different kinds of FSTs, but the three main ones are the horizontal gaze nystagmus (AKA the eye test), the one-leg stand, and the walk and turn. These three FSTs were deemed the most reliable by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). The problem is that they are not reliable. In fact, many people have been falsely accused and/or convicted of DUIs based on their poor performance during a field sobriety test.

There’s been a lot of discussion about the new mortgage guidelines that came into effect earlier this year. The new guidelines are part of the Dodd-Frank Act, which passed in 2010 in response to the financial crisis, and have been put into place in order to make sure that borrowers can afford to repay mortgages. The question most people have is whether or not the new guidelines will make it more difficult to acquire a mortgage. Having spent over twenty years as a lender, I follow guideline changes very closely, and, although I think it’s important for buyers to understand the new guidelines, I don’t believe the guidelines will make it harder to qualify for a mortgage.

There’s really no debate on this: if a person is charged with a DUI which also alleges prior convictions, they need a DUI lawyer. Period. Maybe the more interesting question arises when a person is charged with a first offense DUI. Those folks may find themselves thinking, “Hey, it’s a just first offense, there are going to be mandatory fines, a mandatory alcohol program, and probably some sort of license restriction. I can handle this.”